Becoming a Certified Caretaker – What You Need to Know

August 31, 2016 4:33 am

As the population grows older and more people require medical assistance, the nursing profession is becoming a really important cog in the entire healthcare system. Various agencies predict that between 2016 and 2026, the need for caretakers in all areas will increase by 16 percent. In fact, at the moment there are more open positions in the field than qualified candidates that can fill them. Becoming a certified caretaker guarantees job security with high earnings and potential to rise through the promotional ranks.

What do nurses and caretakers do?

A caretaker is quite a broad term and it can mean a lot of things. When you become a nurse, your responsibilities vary depending on the employer and the field of expertise, but they usually include caring for patients, assisting the physician, preparing and administering therapies, monitoring recovery and disease prevention. There are many paths you can take and depending on which one you pick, you will be working in hospitals, private practice offices, healthcare agencies, outpatient facilities, rehabilitation centers, etc… Becoming a certified caretaker opens the door for careers in healthcare education and administration and in many other fields.

How to become a nurse.

One of the first things you need to do is figure out what kind of caretaker you would like to become. Do your own research, find out what are you interested in, and how the process differs in the training and certification areas.

Earn a degree

Once you decide to become a nurse, complete your primary education in the field and then pick a specialty that interests you the most. Earning a degree used to mean you would have to attend classes and do clinical work. The good thing about this part of the process is that you can now do it online. You receive your education over the interet, but you get your clinical practice and experience in your local community. This degree will allow you to get a job in the healthcare industry and it is recognized as a valid form of education. There is the argument that employers tend to pick nurses who received their degrees attending a college because of the more in-depth knowledge they acquired. But on the other hand, the demand for healthcare providers is high and there is always a job waiting for one.

Get certified.

The next step is to get a certification. On sites like https://www.acls-pals-bls.com/, you can become a certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support provider, for instance, and you can do the course from the comfort of your own home. This is an amazing opportunity for all the people looking to get into the healthcare industry without having to spend thousands on expensive training. Another benefit of getting certified online is the width of specialties that you can pick from. These certificates are usually directly influencing what type of patient care will you be performing and many of them narrowly focus on a specific branch. In order to get certified, you need to pass an exam and showcase your knowledge. On a site we mentioned, this entire process can be completed in less than an hour, and you also receive access to their library of courses. With this exam, the process is complete and you can start applying for positions in the industry.

Built in career advancement opportunities.

Nurses are usually required to continue education and complete other courses every 24 months. This means that you can get certified in other fields and broaden your knowledge which opens up new career paths for you to take. This too can be done online as well. Attending courses and passing exams https://www.acls-pals-bls.com/ can get you certified in ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) and BLS (Basic Life Support). Let’s use these to demonstrate what kind of opportunities we are talking about. ACLS opens the door to employment in any facility that treats cardiovascular diseases or where there is a need for first response personnel in that area. PALS opens the door for employment in any facility that treats kids like nursing schools, kindergartens, and primary school or healthcare offices, and wherever the pediatric first response healthcare is needed. So getting certified in just these two areas will open employment opportunities from nursing homes and retirement centers, through ER rooms and first respond centers, to kindergartens and pediatric offices.

You can also combine other degrees with these certifications. If you earned a bachelor in economics prior to becoming a nurse, for example, you can pursue a career in administration. Or you can continue your education and transition into teaching. Teach nursing classes and disease prevention and create a new generation of nurses. Or you can turn to the research work and help develop new advances in the medical industry. There are many paths you choose from, and a good thing is that you can never make a mistake with it. If you don’t like the field you are in, you can simply get a new certification in another field and explore the possibilities there.

Job opportunities outside the medical profession.

Getting a certificate can be a stepping stone for other career paths. We already mentioned education and administration, but there are many other fields where you can use your certificate. ACLS certificate, for example, qualifies you to enter the world of drug sales for a company specializing in the development of drugs that treat cardiovascular diseases. Or you can become a nurse advocate and assist patients with the understanding of the diagnosis and insurance issues. There are a lot of possibilities and receiving your nursing certificate can either be a way to find a job security, or a way to launch a career. And you can do it online.

Kidal D. is author at LeraBlog. The author's views are entirely his/her own and may not reflect the views and opinions of LeraBlog staff. Chief editor and author at LERAblog, writing useful articles and HOW TOs on various topics. Particularly interested in topics such as Internet, advertising, SEO, web development, and business.